A/N: Yeah, here it is. It's technically NOT late, since it's still Sunday my time! Haha! But yeah, I was bustin' my butt trying to finish in time. Blame the writer's block. Again.

Anyway, yeah, September first, guys! Here's to another school year at Hogwarts! It would be my sixth year, and Teddy's fifth... hehehe. :3 But who's keeping track? *whistles innocently*

Disclaimer: I own the OCs and the plot. Everything else is the creation of JKR. *bows* Oh, and the song is mine. I might have accidentally used some phrases; let me know if I did, kplzthx.

"Thank Merlin it isn't raining this year," Liz said as she stepped off the train. She tilted her head back to look at the sky. Several large clouds hung overhead, obscuring the waning moon.

"Move it, Liz, you're blocking the door," James' irritated voice said from behind her.

"I'm going, keep your hair on," Liz said, swatting his hand away when he prodded her shoulder. She and James hovered near the door, waiting for Remus and Peter, who had somehow got caught in the crowd.

"Wait- there's Sirius," James said. "Sirius!"

Sirius half-raised his hand, but suddenly lowered it as though realizing that he wasn't supposed to be associating with them. He opted for a rude gesture instead. Liz rolled her eyes; Sirius was going to have too much fun with this.

From over the heads of the crowd, though, she could see Narcissa smile approvingly.

"You know how we thought this year might not be so awful?" James said. "I take it back. This year's going to suck. Bad."

"Badly," Liz corrected automatically.

"I ain't gonna talk with no proper grammar if I don't gotta," James said. He folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air, doing an uncanny impression of Lily, but a moment later, he snorted and doubled over with laughter. "Sorry," he managed to say.

Liz shook her head, but she was laughing as well.

They waited for Remus and Peter to join them before they headed for the carriages.

They made awkward small talk on the short trip to the castle, but without Sirius' boisterous energy, it seemed... incomplete. Liz leaned out the window as the carriage passed through the gates. She gazed up at the castle, picking out familiar landmarks as they drew closer. It was good to be back.

When the carriage pulled up to the front doors, Peter was the first one out. "Food!" he yelled, not even waiting for the others. It was inconsequential, though, as they were right behind him.

Sirius was already seated when they entered the Great Hall. Liz grimaced when they made to sit next to him, and he scooted farther along the bench. This was going to be a long year.

James fiddled with his goblet as the rest of the school filed in. "Why can't they hurry it up?" he moaned. "I'm starving!"

"I heard there's venison on the menu," Liz said, earning herself a smack upside the head.

"Would you cut that out?" James snapped.

Liz glowered at him. "Sorry," she muttered mutinously. Remus nudged her and leaned over so James couldn't hear.

"I think he's just touchy that his nicknames are being made fun of," he said quietly. "Just let it go. Unless you want him to tease you when you figure out what your animal is?"

Liz rolled her eyes, but nodded. He had a point.

"Here come the firsties," James said, an evil grin spreading across his face. Liz turned to watch as Professor McGonagall led a group of tiny students up the middle of the hall. Liz stared. Had she really been that small once?

She was able to pick Regulus out immediately. He looked almost like he could be Sirius' twin, but without the confidence. He was visibly trembling, and for some reason, eyeing Dumbledore as if the old man was going to lunge across the table and attack.

The hall fell silent when Professor McGonagall stopped in front of the three-legged stool that held the Sorting Hat. Liz and the others leaned forward, waiting for the song. They weren't disappointed.

Back when Hogwarts was completed
And students came to learn,
They met the founders and they sought
Their patronage to earn.

The brave and bold and strong of heart
Were prized by Gryffindor
Ravenclaw looked for inquiring minds
And seekers of lost lore.

Hufflepuff took the patient, the hardworking,
The just, the kind, the true,
Slytherin sought those with great ambition,
The cunning, sly, and shrewd.

So they took their very own
And taught them all they knew,
But the question was, when they were gone,
Who would be left to choose?

It's my job now to sort you,
I've never yet been wrong.
I'll have a look inside your head
And sort you where you belong!

The hall burst into applause and Liz and Remus exchanged relieved looks. No morbid messages of death and despair this year.

McGonagall unrolled the scroll with the students' names. "Black, Regulus."

Despite the seriousness of the occasion, Liz had to stuff her fist in her mouth to muffle her giggles. At the mention of Sirius' brother, the teachers' attention became fixated on the boy, probably calculating how much trouble they could expect from him.

The hat was silent for a moment before yelling, "SLYTHERIN!"

The green-decked table cheered as Regulus hurried to join them. Liz shot Sirius a sympathetic look, but he seemed to have developed a great interest in his silverware.

"Bones, Gordan."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Liz tuned the Sorting out, but she made sure to clap with everyone else whenever a new Gryffindor joined the ranks. She just didn't really care about this year, but next year, when Chris was starting, she'd pay attention- and since their last name began with 'A', she would only have to wait a few minutes.

"Why can't they hurry up?" James whined. "I'm-"

"James," Liz interrupted, "You've said that already."

"Besides, you can't be as hungry as me," Peter chimed in.

"I could eat more than you any day, Pettigrew, and you know it!"

"James, this is Peter we're talking about," Liz said dryly.

James looked affronted. "Well, I can at least eat more than him tonight!"

Remus massaged his temples. "If either of you is sick in the middle of the night, I'm not cleaning it up."

"Fair enough." James turned to Peter. "So, how are we going to decide on the winner?"

Peter shrugged. "Let's just see if we can eat all through the feast."

Liz's stomach turned over. "Just thinking about that makes me ill," she muttered.

"Their pain is self-inflicted," Remus said, though he looked a little green as well.

Hoping to get of the subject of eating oneself sick, Liz looked up at the head table, wanting to take stock of the new Defense teacher. The only unfamiliar face didn't impress her. The new teacher was a rather... buxom lady, with long, silky, platinum-blonde hair and blue eyes like pools of water. Her robes were made of a filmy grass green cloth that seemed to float around her. She looked like she belonged more in an issue of Witch Weekly instead of in a classroom. Liz despised her instantly.

"She's definitely not going to last the year," Liz muttered to herself.

"Who?" Remus followed her gaze and shrugged. "The new teacher?" He stared at her for a few minutes. "She doesn't look half bad..."

Liz scowled at the table. "She looks pathetic."

"Dumbledore wouldn't have hired her if she wasn't up to the job," Remus protested, not taking his eyes off the new teacher.

Liz bristled. "Almost nobody will take the position because they think the job's been cursed. I mean, ask any of the older students; nobody has been able to hold it for longer than a year. Besides, I don't think the teachers even have to be qualified anymore. Apparent;y, the teacher three years ago was fired because he was snorting dried doxy venom."

Remus didn't seem to be listening, his eyes focused on the head table. Liz was about to snap at him for ogling the new teacher before he said, "Where's Professor Binns?"

Liz scanned the table and realized that the ancient history professor wasn't there. "Maybe he died," she said.

"Who died?" James asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Binns. He's not here."

"Binns died?" Peter gasped.

"Nobody died!" Remus exclaimed, a little too loudly. Several people turned to look at them. "Liz was just being rash," he continued in an undertone.

"I was not being rash," Liz protested. "Come on, Rem, Bins is ancient, he's going to have to die sometime soon."

Remus closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose. Liz quickly shut her mouth when she recognized it as his please-shut-up-now-or-else face.

Dumbledore stood up. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! As much as I would love to address you all now, I think all of us, myself included, would prefer to eat. Enjoy!"

The feast appeared on the tables and Liz began to pile food onto her plate before James and Peter could steal all the good stuff.

None of them talked as they ate, too busy stuffing themselves to bother with conversation. When Liz was full, she set her fork down, averting her eyes from James and Peter, who were eating like pigs. It was pretty disgusting.

Lily seemed to agree. "Honestly, Potter, just because you have no manners doesn't mean you need to eat like a caveman," she said from a few seats down the table.

"Mmph gbth blgg, och," James mumbled around his food. Lily wrinkled her nose and deliberately turned her back on him. For once, Liz could agree with Lily's sentiments.

She noticed Remus watching the new teacher again and waved a hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to brainless?"

"What?" Remus asked, irritated.

"Stop gaping at her! It's really weird, not to mention creepy." Liz was not too happy when Remus just rolled his eyes and turned back to gawk.

"I can't believe him," she said to James. "I mean, since when does he ever..." she trailed off incredulously when she realized James and Peter had stopped eating and were staring up at the new teacher as well. James looked like he did whenever he saw Lily...

Something was going on. Liz looked around the hall and felt her eye twitch when she realized almost every boy had stopped eating to stare at the lady, who seemed quite oblivious to all the attention she was getting.

Liz pushed her plate away, ignoring the desserts that appeared on the table. None of the boys even noticed.

James was snapped out of his daze when the food vanished. "I wasn't done eating!" he wailed.

"Your own fault," Liz muttered, still seething.

Professor Dumbledore stood once more. "Now that we have eaten, it is time for some announcements. First years- and some older students as well- should note that the Forbidden Forest if off-limits to everyone, as is the Whomping Willow near the greenhouses. Magic is not to be used in the corridors, and the list of banned magical items is on Mr. Filch's office door, for anyone who wishes to check it.
"Also, I'd like to welcome Professor Mila Krasimir, who has graciously taken the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some very enthusiastic response, most notably from the male members of the crowd. Liz groaned and dropped her head to the table when James, Peter, and Remus joined in. She risked a glance down the table and regretted it when she saw Sirius cheering along with everyone else.

"Now then, it's time for you to head off to bed. Pip pip!"

Liz had to practically drag her friends away, shooting a worried look at Sirius, who was still in his seat, transfixed by Professor Krasimir.

"Come on, you guys," she said, tugging impatiently at Remus' sleeve. "You can stare at her all you want in class."

"Ugh," James groaned as she led them up to the Gryffindor tower. "I think I'm gonna barf..."

Liz silently agreed.

A/N: Ooh, boy, Liz is jealous! That's not going to end well. If anyone wants to guess about Professor Krasimir, her name is Bulgarian. That's all I'm going to say about her. *wink wink*

Anyway, you guys are all awesome! Sixty-four reviews and still going strong! Happy dance! \('-'\) \('-')/ (/'-')/ \('-')/

To guest reviewer dorysaur: I'm so honored that you felt my story is good enough to be compared to Nutella! I love that stuff! Yeah, poor Sirius... and maaaybe there's a little bit of a love triangle, but nothing too... Sirius. (lol u c wut i did that?)

Keep up the feedback! I write for you lovely reviewers now!

Until next time,

-Dndchk